(November 21, 1997)

Dalia, Michelle, Members of Congress, members of the
administration, General and Mrs. Shelton, Secretary Christopher, Secretary
Vance, General Powell, thank you all for coming. To the Ambassadors
of Israel and Jordan and Egypt, we thank you for being here today. Shimon
and Leah, thank you for your friendship, for your remarks, and for your
continued profound and eloquent striving for peace.

I am delighted that this prize will fund scholarships
for young Americans to study in Israel, further strengthening the bonds
between our nations and deepening the friendship between our people.
And I am profoundly honored to be the first recipient of the Man of
Peace Award. But actually, as we all know, I can accept this only on
behalf of all people in our administration and previous administrations
and, indeed, citizens in this country who have devoted themselves to
helping to bring peace in the Middle East. There can be no greater recognition
than this award founded by the family of Yitzhak Rabin and by Shimon
Peres, two men who helped to give the world one of its greatest gifts,
the hope of a new era of peace in the land of light and revelation.

You know, I was sitting here thinking when Shimon and
Leah were talking of all the times that Hillary and I and Al and Tipper
with one or all of them—and it's so hard to say now, but actually,
from time to time, we had a lot of fun doing this.

There were times when I thought that my role in the
Middle East peace process was to bring to bear the wealth and power
of the United States to work in a positive way and to work things through
with Arab States, and all of that. A lot of times I thought I was Prime
Minister Rabin's fashion adviser—[laughter]—which shows
you just how much trouble he was in. [Laughter]

Upstairs in my office, which is actually almost exactly
right above this room, I have on a little table in a silver tray, that
I believe Shimon gave me, the yarmulke that I wore at the Prime Minister's
funeral, a little pin I had to wear to go to the graveside, and a small
stone I took from the grave. But above it I have the picture of us together
the last time I ever saw him, where I'm straightening the bow tie I
had to get for him because he didn't bring a bow tie to take to this
black-tie dinner that we attended.

I say that to remind you that the real purpose of peace
is to allow people to laugh, to return to ordinary life, to appreciate
the little things in life, and to appreciate it with people with whom
they have previously been at odds and that it is not something we can
be discouraged about, it has to be done little by little.

I remember the day we were in here and we were fixing
to go out, in September, and sign the peace agreement. And the Prime
Minister was of two minds: First, you know, people were grinding on
him, "How can you do this? You can't trust the Palestinians,"
and all this, and he had this great one-liner, "Well, you can't
make peace with your friends." But then when I said when we went
out there it was going to be quite an extravaganza, and Mr. Arafat was
an emotional person, and there was going to have to be a handshake—well,
now, the handshake was another thing altogether. [Laughter]

He said, "I have been fighting him for decades."
I said, "You just told me you can't make peace with your friends.
There is going to be a billion people watching. What are you going to
do?" He said, "All right, but no kissing." [Laughter]
And so I'm glad the press didn't know that because there's always this
question, is the glass half empty or half full? So the whole world was
electrified by this picture of these two men shaking hands. If the whole
story had been known, someone would have written the story, why didn't
they kiss? [Laughter]

We have to remember what the purpose of this is. Shimon
Peres and Yitzhak Rabin rose to the height of Israeli politics by being
concerned with the security of the State of Israel. And after a lifetime
devoted to its security, based on their experience and their understanding
not only of the particular situation but of human nature, they reached
a unique partnership premised on a commitment to peace as ultimately
the only guarantor of security. They found the sort of courage that
we saw when Sadat and Begin signed the Camp David accords.

And I will never forget that great day here in September
of '93, when Yitzhak Rabin said, "Enough of blood and tears."
Leah mentioned the things which happened afterward, and we have seen
a great deal of progress, the interim accords, the peace with Jordan
in the Araba, growing diplomatic ties with neighbors.

Shimon said in his Nobel Address that Israel had proved,
and I quote, "that aggressors do not necessarily emerge as the
victors." But also, he had learned that the victors do not necessarily
win peace. To win peace these two leaders, on behalf of the Israeli
people, stepped beyond the bounds of convention, put aside old habits
of suspicion and mistrust. And after an assassin's bullet took Yitzhak's
life, Shimon stayed true to the path they had chosen, even when the
enemies of peace waged terror against the people of Israel.

We know from experience both before and since that
progress is possible and progress is difficult, that barriers fall only
if people show a consistent and constant will to go forward, guided
by and bound to several principles. I think it's worth repeating them
here today. Israelis and Palestinians must embrace the spirit at the
heart of the Oslo accords, not jockeying for advantage but working together
for the benefit of both sides. Both sides must dedicate themselves to
building confidence, step by step, through a series of agreements on
issues affecting both Palestinians and Israelis. Both sides must refrain
from actions that undermine the joint pledge they have made to strengthen
security. Both sides must approach each other as partners, joined by
the prospect of peace and security. And both sides must live up to the
letter and the spirit of their obligations.

In recent months, you have to acknowledge at least
that the pace of change has slowed and that the bonds of trust have
eroded on both sides. The answer is not to bemoan the present condition
but to renew our resolve to move forward.

During recent negotiations here in Washington and in
the region, Israelis and Palestinians worked together seriously in an
atmosphere of genuine respect. They faced the essential task of building
cooperation and preventing terrorism. They moved closer to agreement
on concrete steps to benefit the Palestinian people. They worked to
advance the discussion on more difficult issues they will face in permanent
status negotiations.

Now both sides have got to realize the need for urgency.
The window of progress will become smaller with time. The frustration
of ordinary people, both Israelis and Palestinians, will grow in the
absence of progress. That is why we want the parties to work intensively
on the matters that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat have
undertaken to discuss: security cooperation, redeployment of Israeli
forces, a time-out on provocative actions, the acceleration of permanent
status talks. By addressing these issues, we can establish for Israelis
and Palestinians that peace will bring tangible benefits. By speeding
the progress on this track, we can move closer to invigorating negotiations
between Israel and Lebanon and Israel and Syria to establish a lasting
and comprehensive peace.

In recent weeks, as Iraq has challenged the United
Nations, we have been reminded again of how vital it is to continue
forging a community of shared values throughout the region to strengthen
the bonds among all people who oppose intimidation and terror and how
we will never, ever do that until there is peace between Israel and
her neighbors and that the absence of that peace makes the other difficulties,
tensions, and frustrations all the more troubling because it compounds
them and undermines our ability to seek a unified solution.

I think I should say just a few words about Iraq before
closing. Early this morning, the international weapons inspectors arrived
back in Baghdad, including the Americans assigned to the team. Their
unconditional return is an important achievement for the international
community. It shows once again that determined diplomacy backed by the
potential of force is the only way to deal with Saddam Hussein. We must
make sure that inspectors are able to resume their mission unimpeded.
The inspector team has a clear mission and a clear responsibility. They
must be able to proceed with their work without interference, to find,
to destroy, to prevent Iraq from rebuilding nuclear, chemical, and biological
weapons and the missiles to carry them.

Let there be no mistake: We must be constantly vigilant
and resolute, and with our friends and partners, we must be especially
determined to prevent Saddam's ability to reconstitute his weapons of
mass destruction program. Our children and our grandchildren will not
forgive us unless we honor the work of the UNSCOM professionals. We
must not let our children be exposed to the indiscriminate availability
and potential of use and actual use of the biological and chemical and
smaller scale nuclear weapons which could terrorize the 21st century.

The UNSCOM team of dedicated professionals have labored
quietly and effectively for 6 years. The past 2 weeks have made them
famous people in the world. Let us not so much cherish their fame as
value their mission. And let us be determined to see that it can go
forward.

Leah and Shimon, it was not 5 years go that I promised
Yitzhak, as President Carter had promised Menachem Begin, that the United
States would be there every step of the way with Israel as it walks
the path of peace. Today I renew that pledge, for myself, our administration
and indeed for the American people. I am deeply honored by this award.
But the only prize in the end that really matters is the prize of peace
we must give to the children of the Middle East.

For as long as I live, I will be grateful for the profound
honor I had to work with you, Shimon, and with Yitzhak, to get to know
your families, your co-workers, your friends, to see one of those magic
moments that the Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet, Shamus Heaney, spoke
of when he said that sometimes people just leave aside their cynicism
and their bitterness, and hope and history rhyme. That is what you made
happen. The only way we can truly honor the memory of our friend and
the continuing work of our friend, Shimon Peres, is not to let it go
but to bear down and see it through.